Mind Your Manners
by Paper Doll Decay
Summary: House and Chase meet over drinks to share their misery. What else will they end up sharing? Takes place after the episode "Private Lives."


**Takes place after "Private Lives" if you were interested in knowing.**

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The pub was jumping, the hot girls and young guys by the pool table were flirting away; the patrons at the bar were well on their way to drinking themselves happy, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Everyone except for Gregory House.

"Can I get another shot of tequila?" House asked the bartender. The inebriation that oozed out of his voice was an extreme over exaggeration. This was only his second. _He wants to seem drunk_, the bartender, a petite blonde, thought. She eyed him suspiciously as she handed him the shot.

House downed it like a professional and savoured the harsh, pervading taste and smell; the sensation of warmth (and possibly sting?) of it descending in his body.

He checked his watch. A quarter after ten. _Fifteen minutes late, that's all_, House thought. But still he couldn't help but think maybe he wasn't coming. It wasn't like Chase to be late. Maybe he decided he'd just as soon get wasted at home. Really, where was the appeal in coming to a place like this and drinking with your egotistical, asshole boss?

But House heard the door swing open, even over the sounds of the jukebox and mildly rowdy customers. He had been listening for it. He didn't turn around, but he could almost hear an Australian accent on the newcomer.

Chase sat down on the barstool next to House and didn't say a word. He acknowledged House with a little nod. He looked as bad as House felt. Well, Chase could never look bad, but he looked tired- not just in a physical sense, but in a tired of life sense. It was an expression he had been wearing a lot lately, and it hadn't gotten by Greg House.

"A couple more shots, please," House said to the bartender.

"Wow. Please. That's a new one," Chase said, with a little sarcastic smile. It was a smile House loved, despite that it was obviously a mask for something deeper. Or maybe because of it.

House put on his own fake smile. "I'm finally getting the hang of this manners thing. Please, thank you, and not calling people idiots. It was difficult at first, but I think I can manage."

"I beg to differ," Chase said, with a small laugh. Just for a flash of a second, House saw a true smile on his friend's face. It brought on one of his own.

Then the bartender brought their drinks and they downed them simultaneously, without looking at each other. It was silent for a moment or two. Tense, miserable. It felt like a lifetime.

"So the patient gets to recover. Even went with the pig heart valve, so she can have kids some day. Taylor was so happy. Such a touching story. Doesn't it warm your heart?" Chase asked.

House scanned his friend's face. "You say the words, but you don't mean them. Why?"

"No. I don't know. It's great that she gets to live, don't get me wrong. And she might want to have kids some day, even. But I mean what are the chances that they are actually going to have a happy ending? She seemed to love her computer more than Taylor, and he desperately wanted kids. She doesn't. What are the chances that it's going to all work out fine?" Chase asked.

"Very slim," House said. "Or maybe just a little slim. Who knows? This is about you and Cameron. Can I get some more shots over here?" He slurred a little bit on the last line.

"Jesus, House. Are you drunk already?" Chase asked. "Of course it's about Cameron. It's not even that I miss her, or that I love her. Because I don't. It's just that things don't work out. They aren't as nice as they seem. What Allison and I had... it wasn't great. It wasn't being happy. But I wanted it. I wanted it. Because that is the best it gets. What if it doesn't get any better? I'll just keep grasping at straws and having cold, loveless relationships. It's all so fucking depressing."

More tequila shots. "Why do you think it has to be loveless? Is this still you grieving about being pretty?"

"But it's always been this way. My relationships have always been comfortable for awhile. Women love me for my looks; that's it. And I don't love them either. I've never loved anyone I've been with. What reason do I have to think that's going to change?"

House rapped on the table.

"Let me guess, more shots?" The bartender asked. She wasn't looking at House. She was looking at Chase with a look of lust in her eyes. Chase was looking at House, with a look of a wounded puppy. House was averting both their gazes.

"Yes, mam," House said.

"You're getting good at the polite thing," Chase said. Again, House could swear he saw the ghost of a smile on the man's face.

"You're in your thirties. You can't possibly know what's going to happen. I get it. Your wife left you; you're depressed. But this isn't the end of the world. Love's not that great anyway. It's just more heartache and depression. You're not missing out on much," House said.

Chase shifted in his seat so his body was pointed in his direction. "Really? You're going to sit here and talk to me about love? Howdrunk _are_ you?"

"Not nearly enough," House said as they downed their latest shots. It was House's fifth and Chase's third. "But I stand by my statement."

Chase grinned widely. "No way. The Gregory House is going to sit here and lecture me on love. But you know, I said I've never loved someone I was _with _not that I never loved someone. I'm familiar with the feeling."

"Then you know it's overrated."

"It probably wouldn't be if you could act upon it. If you could be with that person," Chase said.

"Why couldn't you be with that person?" House asked.

"I thought we were going to get drunk and feel better, not sit here and talk like women. More shots please," Chase said. The bartender winked at him and returned quickly with their drinks. There was another awkward lull in the conversation where both parties were lost in their own thoughts and not sure how to continue.

House finally spoke up. "I'm waiting. Tell me why you couldn't be with that person."

Chase looked down at the empty shot glass in his hand. "Will you tell me your story, then?" He established brief eye contact and then quickly looked away.

"What makes you think I have a story?" House asked.

"You said love was just more misery and heartache. Hence, implying that you have had such an experience."

"Or maybe I was just trying to make you feel better," House replied.

Chase smiled that winning grin. One of the many reasons why the ladies loved him. "Nuh-uh. No way you just wanted me to feel better. Tell me."

This was the moment House had been preparing for. Why he had been pretending to be drunk. If he said it, and it didn't go well... well he was drunk. It was an excuse, albeit a lame one. It would certainly be awkward. But maybe it could be washed away as another one of Gregory House's crazy breakdowns.

"It's not so fun to love someone when they're married to someone else," House said.

"Keep going," Chase said.

"Knowing they don't want you or see you in that way at all. The thought would be laughable."

Chase frowned. "Who do you know who's married?"

"No one. Anymore..."

It took a moment for that to sink in.

"You loved Cameron?" Chase said. It was loud enough that a couple people stopped to look at him, despite the less than quiet atmosphere. He continued more quietly. "You loved Cameron? Jesus Christ. God knows she loved you. You two should have been together, I never should have gotten involved with her..."

House shook his head and grabbed his cane, which had been leaning against the bar. "Not Cameron."

"Then..."

"Keep going, you're almost there," House said in his most sarcastic, cruellest voice.

"Oh, House..." Chase said. "You mean..." House nodded.

"Me?" Chase's voice had taken on a new high quality. "Why? When?"

"Yes, you. Why? It's just who you are. Your smile, your laugh. The way you're always pretending to be someone else, even if I can see right through it. Everything about you. You just make me wish I was better, the kind of person you might look at it. It started a long time ago. Years ago," House said.

"...and when did it end?"

"It didn't." Neither of them said anything for a minute or two. "It's your turn for sharing time now."

Chase hollered at the bartender for another couple drinks. "Well it's kind of a moot point now."

"Do tell."

"If you couldn't guess, the feeling is mutual."

House pretended to act like he had no idea what Chase was saying. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I love you, you idiot," Chase said.

"And you say I don't have manners," House said. "No calling people idiots, remember?"

"I remember."

Now they were both wearing silly grins on their faces. They gulped downed their shots once again. House now at eight, Chase at six. Only enough to have a slight loosening of their inhibitions.

Chase started laughing out of the blue.

"What's so funny?" House asked.

"I had no idea. I never thought anything like this would happen," Chase said. It was odd, that feeling of exactly what he wanted to happen coming true. It was both elating and nerve wracking. He felt like he just ate a handful of nails.

"So what do we do now? Where do we go from here?" House asked. There was an air of awkwardness about them. Neither of them was used to this kind of emotional display.

"How about back to my place?" Chase asked. The smile he wore now was genuine, beaming.

House nodded. "Let's go."

The two men walked out of the pub, not very close to each other, but not far apart. They had never been far apart.

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**Author's Note: Well, there you go. I'm fairly happy with this piece. I'm not sure if I'll leave it as a one-shot or continue it for awhile. I really did enjoy writing it, and if I'm motivated enough and I feel inspired I would like to write more. Anyway let me know whether you think I should continue.**

**In regards to my other House fan fic, _Couples Counselling_ I would really love to continue it. But I'm swamped with school work and exams and I still don't know what the diagnosis is, and I've lost my train of thought. I'm really glad that there are people that still want to read it so I am going to try and update it again after I do some research on the symptoms and re-watch some of season five to get a feel for the story again. I think I'm going to have to use a different diagnosis than the one I originally intended, which is great because I got lots of intricate and exciting ideas for what it could be! Thanks everyone for the overwhelming support and help on this story!**


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